The Tug of War

Anansi the Spider decided to play a trick on the Elephant and the Hippopotamus. He went to the Elephant and said, "I bet I am stronger than you." The Elephant laughed. Anansi said, "Let us have a tug of war to prove it." He gave the Elephant one end of a long rope and told him to go into the forest and wait for the signal to pull. Then, Anansi went to the river and found the Hippopotamus. He made the same bet and gave the Hippopotamus the other end of the rope, telling him to go deep into the water and wait. Anansi then went to the middle of the rope, hid in the bushes, and gave it a sharp tug. The Elephant in the forest and the Hippopotamus in the river began to pull with all their might, each believing they were pulling against the small spider. They pulled for hours, tearing up the earth and churning the water, but neither could gain an advantage. They were perfectly matched in strength. Finally, exhausted, they both let go of the rope and went to find Anansi to concede the bet. When they met on the path and told each other their stories, they realized they had been tricked. They searched for Anansi to punish him, but he had hidden himself in a crack in the ground.